Rotoman:
I see a log jam coming in the Atlanta Infield. Rafael Furcal, Wilson Betemit and Marcus Giles are all talented young infielders but only two can play. How do you see things settling?
The thing about talented young players is that they often aren’t quite as ready as they seem. But then that’s what I said about Rafael Furcal two years ago, and he was clearly quite ready then. Injuries did him in last year, but he’ll be ready again, though he’s two years older now than he was last week.
Marcus Giles has a little pop for a pipsqueak, presumably because packed into his short frame is a lot of muscle. Giles also seems to know his way around the strike zone. After last season he has nothing left to prove in Triple-A and while his ability to hit for average in the majors isn’t yet assured, he appears to be right on track. I suppose if he gets off to a horrible start his job may prove to be less secure than it looks right now, but given the Braves long history of weak-hitting second basemen, as long as Giles fields his position decently he should be the team’s second baseman all year long.
Which brings us to Betemit, who is just 20 years old this year (he turns 21 in November). He’s a beanpole, way taller than Giles and 25 pounds lighter. Apart from a few late season AB in Atlanta in September he has just 183 AB above Single-A. He has yet to show enough plate discipline to warrant advancement to the bigs, but he doesn’t appear to be a hopeless case in that regard. Assuming he adds power as he adds weight, he’s going to be a power-hitting third baseman some day, maybe next year, skirting the log jam issue. For now he’s the Atlantas’ insurance policy in case something happens to either Furcal or Giles. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him pick up 200 AB with the big team this year, but he’s really a solid step behind the other two guys.
Act accordingly.